Works In Progress

Between work, kids, school holidays and an imminent overseas trip, I've managed to stay in my habit of sewing but not many projects are being finished. All in good time. You can't rush the creative process... (Actually I find some of my best stuff is done under pressure with limited time!)

Here is a glimpse of what I've been working on lately.

Cross stitch blocks for bootcamp (tutorial here). I decided to go loud and neon for these ones and I love it...but now I'm not sure what else to do with these. A whole neon quilt with black background? Or just a cushion? Or incorporate these into something else? Any ideas?

Ten Easter Sewing Projects

I've been searching around Pinterest and other sites for some Easter sewing and have found some really gorgeous projects! I thought you might like to see some of the best ones I've found in case you would like to do some Easter sewing too.

Here is a round up of 10 fab free patterns and tutorials.

Economy Block Cushion

It's been a cushionpalooza around here lately! After my Spike the Echidna cushion that was quickly adopted by Anna, Lucy decided she wanted a special cushion for her bed too. Who am I to refuse? There will come a day when my kids will probably be embarrassed by me making things for them, so I'll embrace their enthusiasm for now!

Spike The Echidna Cushion

I know this pattern is called Hazel the Hedgehog...but being Australian my kids are not too familiar with hedgehogs. As soon as the block was finished they named her 'Spike the Echidna' and it stuck!

When Angie from Gnome Angel announced that she was hosting a Hazel Quilt-A-Long using Elizabeth Hartman's pattern during February I decided to join in. This year I am making a point of trying new things and participating in more sewing events. It's a good way to push myself and try new things, and also join in and connect with the online sewing community.

I started off with just one block and it took some time. I love this orange leaf print and knew it would be perfect for Spike's spines. The leaves give it some additional pointiness (is that even a word?) and then I went for solids for the body and a low volume grey spot for the background. Despite the accuracy of the block, it's not paper pieced. (making it more appealing for me!)

I knew that making a series of these blocks for a quilt would be too much right now, so I decided upon a cushion. First I added more of the background fabric to make the block large 16" x 16".  I basted it and I used my hera marker (a little device that draws a crease into projects rather than a pencil or pen mark) to draw up a simple criss cross (Kriss Kross - jump jump!)* design for the quilting and I quilted in a pale grey thread.

Finally I bound the cushion (my first time binding a cushion!) with the same fabric as the spines. It finished it really nicely as I didn't want to add any other colour.

The back keeps the colour scheme but I used a grey with larger white polka dots that I had floating around in my stash. To conceal the zipper I used this tutorial by Ms Midge.

Spike was very quickly claimed by Anna and now has a happy life living as a feature cushion on her bed next to her pet pillows!

Make sure you pop over and check out all the other variations of Hazel from the QAL over at Gnome Angel's link party!

*yep I was a teenager in the 90s and now that song is stuck in my head.

Raspberry Kiss Cushion

Could this be one of favourite projects EVER? Yes I think so!

As you might remember from this post, I found a gorgeous mini quilt on pinterest that used these blocks. After some detective work I discovered the maker and followed her information over to the Raspberry Kiss block tutorial by Wooden Spoon Quilts.

What is Fussy Cutting?

Some feedback I've been getting lately is that many people who read here are beginners or intermediate beginners. {Welcome! *waves hello*} Knowing that I've decided that every now and then I'll write a blog post based on simple skills that can really take your quilting and sewing projects to the next level.

Confession. When I first started sewing I had to google "what is fussy cutting" and I wish someone had written this blog post for me!

When A Project Doesn't Work Out

I had high hopes for this patchwork heart, I really did.

My plan was to finish sewing it up, pat myself on the back for how awesome it looks, then post all the details as a new tutorial on the blog.

Nope.

Looks pretty good so far right?

Once I sewed it together I realised a few errors. I didn't account for the fact that the seam allowances for the larger rows of small patchwork would significantly decrease the size of the row in comparison to the top and bottom that only required one seam.

My planning and design did not incorporate measurements for the patchwork, but rather a solid area without seams.

Quilty Projects in Progress

I've been stressing out that I've had no project finishes to share this week despite spending quite a lot of time sewing. Some projects are a long game and you just have to chip away at them bit by bit. And if I keep telling myself that maybe soon I'll start to believe it and stop putting pressure on myself!

I'm at 14 of these raspberry kiss blocks with two more to go. (Block details in my last post.) The consensus on social media is that my last two should be yellow and green, although purple was another popular choice. What do you think?

Quilt Block Boot Camp

I've joined my first ever quilt bee! I'm part of one of the Beehive Swarms - I'm really excited about it AND I'm swarm leader (omg) so I've decided that I need to do some practice. Accuracy is a weak point for me so the last couple of days I've started putting myself through a quilty boot camp of sorts.

How To Choose Fabric

I've had lots people ask me about how I put together fabric combinations and choose my fabric for different projects. A few of very lovely people (Hi Fiona! Hi Mum!) tell me I have a knack for putting fabric together, which is a lovely compliment! So I thought I'd share a few tips and tricks I have for choosing fabric combinations that look great together.

Nautical Metallic Open Wide Zip Pouch

Metallic highlights in fabric is really on trend at the moment and I have to say, I love it!

I found this anchor print at Spotlight last year, and Angie from Gnome Angel kindly sent me a few off cuts of this gold denim. I've never seen it at my local store, but anything good sells out quick and you have to be lucky sometimes.

Upcycling Inspiration for Kid's Clothes Week

The next Kid's Clothes Week is happening in a few weeks (February 2-8)  and I haven't sewn along for a very long time, but I really love the theme of the next round - UPCYCLED.

Here is a quick round up of a few fun upcycling projects I have done and some tutorials that will work perfectly with this theme and get you ready for KCW.

Upcycled Baby Blankets to T-shirts - I put together this quick tutorial last year sharing how to maximise the fabric in your old jersey baby blankets to make tees for your kids. I bet you have lots of these blankets at home, but if not you can often pick them up cheaply at the thrift store.

Look how little my baby girl is in this picture! She has grown up so much! *sobs*

My Sewing Predictions for 2015

New Year's Resolutions? I don't make them because I know I'm way too flaky to stick with them! Ha. Know thyself right?

As I organise myself for the year ahead (with my brand new fancy Kikki K diary - big thanks to my sister for that Christmas present!) here is what I know.

• I'll aim to get my stash down but I'll probably spend the GDP of a small country at Spotlight and only realise once all the receipts are tallied in July for tax time. 

• I will still browse all my favourite online fabric stores and fill up the cart. But I won't press 'purchase' because the Australian dollar is currently in the toilet. Boohoo.

Quilted Hexie Mug Rug

I joined the Festive Mug Rug Swap hosted by Gnome Angel last month and was inspired to try something different for this project. I love swaps for that reason - an excuse to make something and send some happy mail, and a chance to flex some creative muscle and try new techniques.

I love the aqua, red and white colour combination, and together with this tutorial from Modern Handcraft, I came up with this festive quilty good thing.

I have to confess that I was STOKED with the outcome. It's so pretty. The quilting is really striking and very easy to achieve by following the shape of the hexagons.

Mini Swoon Block Mug Rug

A good friend of mine has recently started a new job and she was feeling a bit unsure about it all and told me that her office environment hadn't turned out to be as friendly as she'd hoped. I decided to do something to help make her workplace more inviting, so I made her this little mug rug to go on her desk.

I used the Mini Swoon block pattern by Camille Roskelly. I love her designs and all her quilts and fabric choices are consistently beautiful. In many Swoon blocks I've seen (do a pinterest search on Swoon quilts - there are LOADS), white is the most popular background so I decided to change it up and use an aqua solid.

I had a bit of trouble making this - it was my first time using the pattern. It's much more detailed than any block pattern I've sewn before and on such a small scale it's quite fiddly. I thought I'd made a bit of a mess of it once all the block elements were done, but spending some quality time with the seam ripper and trimming it up before sewing the block elements together salvaged it.

The feathers print is a recent purchase from my local Spotlight and the grey spot I bought online a few months back. I can never have too many polka dots!

The finished block is about 8" square but I added a small border before I quilted and bound it, so the finished mug rug is probably about 9". The quilting is minimal, just an outline around the star shape.

I'm kinda late to the party with the Swoon pattern, it's been popular for a few years now. That's fine - let's just call me fashionably late! It's good to get a pattern after it's well established, because I like to search around the internet and look at the different variations other quilters have made. It allows me to pick my fabric combo more carefully and identify things I like or things I would change.

I also bought a pretty mug and I remembered a conversation where she mentioned that her office has an Aldi coffee machine, so I picked up a pack of coffee pods for her as well. 

I'd love to make a whole quilt from these mini swoon blocks. They are just so pretty. I also purchased the original quilt pattern, the blocks are much larger, so maybe I'll start there and see how I go. 

I've made several mug rugs in this past month - I'll share another with you in the next post. I do love the quick finish and the possibilities are endless design wise. Quick quilty goodness!

Scrap Fabric Key Fobs

I've seen loads of those pretty key fobs around on Pinterest and decided that I wanted some! Why did I wait so long - making these took about 10 minutes and it is so much easier to find my keys at the bottom of my hand bag now!

They are pretty basic and next time I will probably use some scrap batting in between the fabric layers to give them a bit more oomph. I do really love them though - I can put my keys around my wrist and be hands free when I need to carry shopping or carry one of my kids!

You only need a really small amount of fabric for these - you'll have what you need in your scrap basket. I purchased this style of key fob hardware.

I folded my fabric in the same way I make binding then added quilting style stitches along the length of the fabric to secure it. Once I did that I folded the fabric strips and attached the hardware using a pair of pliers.

Super simple, practical and a great way to use up scraps. There are lots of tutorials around but Angie from Gnome Angel has this one which is really great.

Small projects like this are really great for getting the sewing mojo back if you are out of the habit, like me at the moment!

Sweet Pouch Swap - Christmas Edition

Woohoo! Round 4 is happening and with a twist - a Christmas theme!

The Sweet Pouch Swap is an event hosted by yours truly and involves stitching up a gorgeous zipper pouch (or similar), including some delicious treats, and posting it off to your assigned partner. Simple and sweet.

The Perfect Baby Gift

I've been making baby gift travel pouches forever (or at least for the last 4 years since I've been sewing!) and they never fail as a great gift for a new baby.

A Zip Pouch Masquerading As A Clutch

I had some offcuts of this lovely Tsuru fabric from a quilt I'm making...well a future quilt than has not been started and is just sitting there for another time when the sewing machine and I will become reacquainted.

I went to a conference last month and decided that since I was staying in the hotel I didn't want to carry a bag around but I wanted something that would accommodate my phone, notepad and pen and other bits and pieces, so this is what I came up with.

Just a regular zip pouch, nothing fancy, but a bit bigger than the usual sizes I make. This one finished up at 10" x 8". I added a wristlet which was handy as morning tea and lunch involved standing with a plate of food and I needed both hands.

I stitched the fabric offcuts together and then quilted two panels using diagonal lines. I really like the effect of the quilting. My favourite print is that dark blue floral, I'm definitely going to have to hunt down some yardage of that one.

At the risk of being controversial, which I usually avoid here - is it just me...or does the yellow feather print remind you of *ahem* something else? Or is that just my filthy mind?

I had some large pieces of the bird foot print fabric remaining so that won the prize of becoming the lining.

So it's kind of a clutch / zip pouch / bag, but it works when you need something a bit bigger than a regular little zippy. Fingers crossed I can get a start on the quilt before Christmas...although that will be here before we know it!

Quiet Fox Applique Pencil Case

How cute is this little guy? Cass from Cass Can Sew is a deft hand with designing software and she has been putting together some appliqué patterns lately which are available to download for free! 

This is the Quiet Fox pattern - I sized my fox down by 50% (I think? Or was it 3/4 size? I can't remember!) and made a mini foxy to appliqué onto a simple denim zippy which is now a pencil case for the girls. I added a couple of little embellishments with some buttons and embroidery and the fox itself was made using some orange quilting cotton scraps and some natural linen scraps fused using bond-a-web type stuff. I embroidered his nose and eyes using some regular black thread.

Yeah he's pretty cute if I do say so myself. The bright orange contrast against the dark denim looks good so I might make Lucy a denim skirt or pinny and add a fox using this appliqué pattern. 

If I get some time to sew...hardly any of that happening around here lately :( While husband is away I tend to go to bed early and read (currently Burial Rites by Hannah Kent or online newspapers) or binge watch TV series (Orange Is The New Black season one) on my laptop. Too tired to think about cutting out a new project!

You can download the Quiet Fox pattern here - it also makes a sweet colouring in page for little kiddos. Lucy coloured hers and Anna cut out all her pieces and glued them back together. Great activity for them! Cass has also just released a Russian Dolls template which is also very gorgeous!